Literature fans: What classics would you recommend a person read if they’re in a hopeless situation that may never improve?

[Weebster]

...

 

[Bootleg Astolfo]

Dante's Divine Comedy. Can be a bit... unique to read at times, but a certified crusader hood classic.

 

[Istanbulite]

Prestupleniye i nakazaniye for sure. I was still in awe for several weeks afterwards.

 

[Weebster]

Dante's Divine Comedy. Can be a bit... unique to read at times, but a certified crusader hood classic.

That book is depressing. I get stuck on like the 7th circle

Prestupleniye i nakazaniye for sure. I was still in awe for several weeks afterwards.

Why not just call it Crime and Punishment?

 

[Ashu]

That would depend on whether they want to savor their misery or distract themselves from it.

 

[Istanbulite]

Camus' L'etranger is a good shout as well

 

[Weebster]

Camus' L'etranger is a good shout as well

Yes it is

 

[Someone123]

Have you read Green Eggs and Ham?

 

[Weebster]

Have you read Green Eggs and Ham?

Lame joke

 

[Message In A Bottle]

Tho I haven't gotten the drive to read it - No Longer Human?
I heard about it through a vocaloid song.

 

[Hans Voralberg]

1. Wieża (Tower) it is a short novel by Polish author Gustaw Herling Grudziński about expierience of lonliness pain and fatal disease unfortunatelly without English translation probably.

2. The Plague Albert Camus- about fighting and accepting death and all reactions of people between these two

3.The Master and Margarita Michaił Bułhakow very profetic book about russiain current situation

4 FUTU.RE by Dymitry Glukhovsky- story about why death and expierience of it is essential for our humanity and cultural, intellectual development in form of SF novel.

5. Heart of darkness by Joseph Conrad no words needed on this book. This darkness portrait by this book in human heart is beyond the words.

 

[the_town_manager]

Prestupleniye i nakazaniye for sure. I was still in awe for several weeks afterwards.

As long as you ignore the tacked-on happy ending.

Notes from Underground is better for hopelessness.

 

[Weebster]

As long as you ignore the tacked-on happy ending.

Notes from Underground is better for hopelessness.

Notes from the underground is cringe. The whole first part is insufferable reading.

 

[the_town_manager]

Notes from the underground is cringe. The whole first part is insufferable reading.

There's definitely a lot of cringe-inducing stuff about the character. But purposefully so. Plenty of interesting insight too imo. The book or the writing itself is most definitely not cringe.

 

[Istanbulite]

As long as you ignore the tacked-on happy ending.

Notes from Underground is better for hopelessness.

Well I never crave hopelessness.

And what was wrong with the epilogue?

 

[Someone123]

Lame joke

This is a very under-rated book- the full text is below. A person can learn a lot from Green Eggs and Ham because the person starts out not liking green eggs and ham and later on they like green eggs and ham- wwe can all learn a lot from this.

GREEN EGGS AND HAM by Dr. Seuss

I am Sam
Sam I am
That Sam-I-am!
Than Sam-I-am!
I do not like
that Sam-I-am!

Do you like green eggs and ham?
I do not like them, Sam-I-am.
I do not like green eggs and ham.

Would you like them here or there?

I would not like them here or there.
I would not like them anywhere.
I do not like green eggs and ham.
I do not like them, Sam-I-am.

Would you like them in a house?
Would you like them with a mouse?

I do not like them in a house.
I do not like them with a mouse.
I do not like them here or there.
I do not like them anywhere.
I do not like green eggs and ham.
I do not like them, Sam-I-am.

Would you eat them in a box?
Would you eat them with a fox?

Not in a box.
Not with a fox.
Not in a house.
Not with a mouse.
I would not eat them here or there.
I would not eat them anywhere.
I would not eat green eggs and ham.
I do not like them, Sam-I-am.

Would you? Could you? In a car?
Eat them! Eat them! Here they are.

I would not, could not, in a car.

You may like them. You will see.
You may like them in a tree!

I would not, could not in a tree.
Not in a car! You let me be.
I do not like them in a box.
I do not like them with a fox.
I do not like them in a house.
I do not like them with a mouse.
I do not like them here or there.
I do not like them anywhere.
I do not like green eggs and ham.
I do not like them, Sam-I-am.

A train! A train! A train! A train!
Could you, would you, on a train?

Not on a train! Not in a tree!
Not in a car! Sam! Let me be!
I would not, could not, in a box.
I could not, would not, with a fox.
I will not eat them with a mouse.
I will not eat them in a house.
I will not eat them here or there.
I will not eat them anywhere.
I do not like green eggs and ham.
I do not like them, Sam-I-am.

Say!
In the dark? Here in the dark!
Would you, could you, in the dark?

I would not, could not, in the dark.

Would you, could you, in the rain?

I would not, could not, in the rain.
Not in the dark. Not on a train.
Not in a car. Not in a tree.
I do not like them, Sam, you see.
Not in a house. Not in a box.
Not with a mouse. Not with a fox.
I will not eat them here or there.
I do not like them anywhere!

You do not like green eggs and ham?

I do not like them, Sam-I-am.

Could you, would you, with a goat?

I would not, could not, with a goat!

Would you, could you, on a boat?
I could not, would not, on a boat.
I will not, will not, with a goat.
I will not eat them in the rain.
I will not eat them on a train.
Not in the dark! Not in a tree!
Not in a car! You let me be!
I do not like them in a box.
I do not like them with a fox.
I will not eat them in a house.
I do not like them with a mouse.
I do not like them here or there.
I do not like them ANYWHERE!

I do not like green eggs and ham!
I do not like them, Sam-I-am.

You do not like them? So you say.
Try them! Try them! And you may.
Try them and you may, I say.

Sam!
If you will let me be,
I will try them.
You will see.

Say!
I like green eggs and ham!
I do! I like them, Sam-I-am!
And I would eat them in a boat.
And I would eat them with a goat…
And I will eat them in the rain.
And in the dark. And on a train.
And in a car. And in a tree.
They are so good, so good, you see!

So I will eat them in a box.
And I will eat them with a fox.
And I will eat them in a house.
And I will eat them with a mouse.
And I will eat them here and there.
Say!
I will eat them ANYWHERE!

I do so like green eggs and ham!
Thank you! Thank you, Sam-I-am!

 

[Weebster]

There's definitely a lot of cringe-inducing stuff about the character. But purposefully so. Plenty of interesting insight too imo. The book or the writing itself is most definitely not cringe.

Should I skip to the second part of the book? I can't read that whole "I'm hateful. I think my liver is diseased. So what if it is? Etc" again.

 

[the_town_manager]

Well I never crave hopelessness.

And what was wrong with the epilogue?

Christianity. I realize that Dostoevsky is a Christian writer and it's impossible to escape Christianity with him, but I don't have it in me to appreciate any sort of a religious happy ending.

Should I skip to the second part of the book? I can't read that whole "I'm hateful. I think my liver is diseased. So what if it is? Etc" again.

Nah, probably not. I doubt you'll like the second part much better if you didn't like the first part. It is a bit less navel-gazing because it mostly describes specific situations from his past, but the character itself and his thoughts are still the same. If you didn't enjoy the neuroticism in the first part, I doubt you'll enjoy it in the second.

 

[Weebster]

Christianity. I realize that Dostoevsky is a Christian writer and it's impossible to escape Christianity with him, but I don't have it in me to appreciate any sort of a religious happy ending.


Nah, probably not. I doubt you'll like the second part much better if you didn't like the first part. It is a bit less navel-gazing because it mostly describes specific situations from his past, but the character itself and his thoughts are still the same. If you didn't enjoy the neuroticism in the first part, I doubt you'll enjoy it in the second.

Ok. Are proust's books good?

 

[glad it’s night]

As I Lay Dying
Other Rooms, Other Voices
The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas
I Know Why the Cages Bird Sings
A Portrait of a Lady
Ulysses
Man's Search for Meaning
Sophie's Choice
Confessions of Nat Turner
The Mill on the Floss
Infinite Jest
The Great Gatsby
Homage to Catalonia
Angela's Ashes
Childhood's End
On the Road
Naked Lunch
The Name of the Rose
The World According to Garp
Tropic of Cancer

These are ones I've read and liked.
Idk if they're all technically "classics", but they're all written minimum over 25 years ago. A few are from the 1800s.
I'll add more if I think of any

 

[the_town_manager]

Ok. Are proust's books good?

No idea. Never read him. I guess people do seem to like him.

 

[Weebster]

As I Lay Dying
Other Rooms, Other Voices
The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas
I Know Why the Cages Bird Sings
A Portrait of a Lady
Ulysses
Man's Search for Meaning
Sophie's Choice
Confessions of Nat Turner
The Mill on the Floss
Infinite Jest
The Great Gatsby
Homage to Catalonia
Angela's Ashes
Childhood's End
On the Road
Naked Lunch
The Name of the Rose
The World According to Garp
Tropic of Cancer

These are ones I've read and liked.
Idk if they're all technically "classics", but they're all written minimum over 25 years ago. A few are from the 1800s.
I'll add more if I think of any

Ever read Dracula? I loved it until it switched to the letters by the women. Frankenstein is amazing.

 

[glad it’s night]

Bran Stoker? No, but good suggestion. Now it's on my list.
I still gotta finish Moby Dick too. It's actual pretty funny at parts. It's so long though I ended up pausing to read other books and didn't return yet. Finishing "Being There" tonight. That's a very short one.

 

[Weebster]

Bran Stoker? No, but good suggestion. Now it's on my list.
I still gotta finish Moby Dick too. It's actual pretty funny at parts. It's so long though I ended up pausing to read other books and didn't return yet. Finishing "Being There" tonight. That's a very short one.

Ever read HP Lovecraft? I find him more interesting than Poe.

 

[glad it’s night]

Mountains of Madness by Lovecraft is on my list
My brother recommended it

 

[Weebster]

Mountains of Madness by Lovecraft is on my list
My brother recommended it

Read Ex Oblivione. It would resonate with a suicidal person

 

[AnnyMyr]

When I was at the polyclinic, there were books and one guy was reading Dostoevsky. A doctor came up and said that Dostoevsky was not the best reading for a depressed person. Dostoevsky is very cool, but gloomy. Read Chekhov.

 

[houseofleaves]

When I was at the polyclinic, there were books and one guy was reading Dostoevsky. A doctor came up and said that Dostoevsky was not the best reading for a depressed person. Dostoevsky is very cool, but gloomy. Read Chekhov.

As if Chekhov isn't gloomy. Yeah, lol, especially the «Sleepy» story, lol. Aha.

 

[AnnyMyr]

As if Chekhov isn't gloomy. Yeah, lol, especially the «Sleepy» story, lol. Aha.

Yes, this story is scary. But the rest of the stories have humor, ridicule the vices of people. I recently discovered the writer Veresaev, he is also a good writer, doctor. In general, of course, Russian classics are all gloomy.

 

[CowsAreCool]

Slaughterhouse Five - Discusses mortality

The Fountainhead - Motivating, my favorite book